Aliens

It’s the end – but the moment has been prepared for

Kevin puts pen to paper for the last time: it’s the Dirk finale…

Well we’re here, the journey that started in July with auditions and the scripts being doled out is about to come to an end. We’ve done four shows and are in the dressing room getting mentally ready for the big finale.

This has been a great show to be a part of, both in the cast and as the production manager, blogger, delivery man and numerous other tasks that have fallen on my shoulders. I’ve learned a lot and know I’m nowhere near ready to direct on such a large scale, at least not without someone to hold my hand.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The cast have uniformly been superb: from Paul Cresser as Dirk, wonderfully enigmatic and fully understanding the interconnectedness of everything, Paul Jones as Richard caught up in the whirlwind of the story, and Phillip DG as the forgetful professor Chronotis, in his 50th anniversary on the Nuffield stage – to Lou, Darcy and Beth as the impish Sarah complete with a yo-yo and of course the myriad of supporting players, everyone on the stage has given their all to make this the success it has been.

We were also lucky to have some amazingly talented people back stage and working on props and effects. Without the likes of Ollie, Clayton, Mike, Adam (both), Steve, Dave, and Tom we would look like fools running around in dress up. Their craft makes the unreal real and creates the illusion that we are in the world of Dirk.

All of this of course needs someone to be the puppet master, someone to pull the strings and we had someone colourful and larger than life to corral us and keep us in line. It’s not always been plain sailing, rehearsals with lots of sickness, line learning not where it should be, SFX taking a little, ahem, longer than hoped – but in the end almost 1,000 people will have left the theatre with a smile on their faces and mild feeling of confusion as they work out what they’ve just seen…

Lorraine, it’s time to get the sofa off the stairs and sit down and have a cuppa. Phew!

Here we go: Dirk is about to take to the stage

Cast rehearsals have ended and the theatre and audiences await… production manager and cast member Kevin Bowers reports from the final Dirk Gently rehearsal

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The get-in and technical rehearsal are almost upon us, and we’re gathered at the Annexe – very close to NST Campus – for our last run-through before we enter the Nuffield theatre proper. We are live, onstage, and ready to rock from next Tuesday 30th January! And you only have until Saturday 3rd to catch all the fun, craziness, colour and comedy of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. You can book here.

The Annexe is a great space to work in, with a wonderful lecture theatre giving the cast a real sense of the space they will need to fill once they get onto the NST Campus stage. Voices will be raised, gestures slightly exaggerated and sight lines worked out.

So, as exam time at the University of Southampton draws to a close (and the students head to the bar) the cast and crew of Dirk Gently still face their greatest test: we are about to see just how well the months of preparation have been used.

Do we know all the lines and our moves?
Are we ready for our cues?Is the stage crew ready to set the scenes?

Our audiences are in for a treat, that’s for sure. Yes of course, it’s a nerve-wracking time for our director Lorraine – but one in which she also sees the fruits of her labours. Everybody involved in the production has put so much into it – and the excitement is really building.

Transporting scenery and props has been planned like a military operation; everyone knows where and when to be. It’s going to be a mammoth logistical task, for sure, but one we’re ready for. We’ve also got a couple of days of promotional walkabouts at the University, with cast and other SUP members – some in full Alien costume – accosting students and staff near the Students’ Union building, handing out leaflets, promoting the Save The Rhino International charity, and trying to tempt students one last time with a special ticket offer.

It’s been great fun getting Douglas Adams’ weird and wonderful characters from the page to the stage, and the whole team now is missing only one element, but it’s the most important one: the audience. When all the elements are mixed together, we can’t wait to experience the reaction… we’ll see you next week!

Lead on, MacDuff: Paul Jones has this week’s SUP blog

Ever since I was a child I’ve been fascinated by the idea of acting on a stage but never plucked up the courage to act myself, due to being dyslexic. I would, however, always overdress for costumed parties – my personal favourite is my Adam Ant costume – or be up singing Karaoke.

It wasn’t until 2014 when the acting bug finally sank its teeth into me.

After a drunken night at Rockaoke (live band but you’re the singer – I sang “Tribute” by Tenacious D), I finally decided that the feeling of being up onstage is as exciting as it is terrifying. So naturally, I rushed out – once the hangover cleared – and found the nearest theatre group to me.

“Not Paul Jones” – but his favourite dressing up character

I started at the sound desk at the Chameleon Theatre Company of Chandler’s Ford, pressing the all-important buttons during a pantomime version of “The Wizard of Oz”.

Shortly after that show, I was swiftly dragged away, thrown onto the stage, put under lights, given a script and took my place in the cast for “Fawlty Towers”.

Next, I was given the part of Johnathan Harker, in a chilling retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula which was a huge challenge for me, being onstage for the first 15 pages!

My approach to acting is very much a head on approach… But, even after preforming in a few plays and being nominated for a few awards in festival plays, I still get nervous about the first step onto the stage.

Paul (far right) joins the SUP murder mystery team in 2017

I’ve recently found joy in the chaotic world of unscripted shows: Murder Mysteries. I was never thrilled with the idea of murder mysteries (it’s normally the butler, after all) but I was given the opportunity to perform in one by SUP and I grasped it firmly – and it surprised me how much fun they actually are!

As a bit of a nerd, I was super excited to hear that SUP was auditioning for Dirk Gently by Douglas Adams.

I originally wanted to go for the title role of Dirk himself but after the read through and auditions I’m glad that Paul Cresser was given the role – especially after I had seen the amount Dirk that has to say!

Paul wrestles with his part – and Phil de Grouchy’s – during a tense rehearsal

In this telling of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency I am playing the role of Richard MacDuff.

The character has been a bit of a challenge for me, mainly talking about Schrodinger’s Cat and computer jargon – but I hope I can play the part well and keep everyone entertained!

Editor’s Note: Paul has recently been cast in a leading role in SUP’s new one-act play BULLY BEEF AND WHIZZBANGS, to be performed at this year’s Totton Drama Festival and beyond…
P.S. We know “Lead on, MacDuff” is a misquote of Shakespeare

Tempus Fugit: meet Reg

Despite knowing little about Galaxy Guiding and Star Trekking – I am more of the ‘Dick Barton’ generation (not that I listened to him much either, I preferred reading ‘Biggles’), I am greatly enjoying my role in ‘Dirk Gently’ as Professor ‘Reg’ Chronotis.

Apart from indulging in his hobbies – which include somewhat ham-fisted conjuring tricks, smoking, leeches (?), and time travelling by abacus, Reg has managed to live for at least 200 years undetected in his Cambridge college rooms, since being appointed to his Chair by mad King George III.

Much fun has been had at rehearsals trying to video the above-mentioned conjuring tricks, involving clay pots and disappearing silver salt cellars, so that when projected on screen, the projections will show marvellous close-ups and, hopefully, distract the audience’s attention from the actually execution of the tricks on stage…

Reg is a delightfully shambling, forgetful character, who is nevertheless able, by intense concentration on his abacus and mathematical calculations, to transport himself and others four billion years into the past: prehistoric Earth. And, thanks to Dirk Gently’s extraordinary feats of deduction, ultimately saves… spoilers!

Taken with a pinch of salt?

I am personally pleased to be appearing on the Nuffield (NST Campus) stage this year, it being the 50th anniversary of my first treading those venerable boards.

Quite apart from my contribution to this show, we have a highly talented company portraying many dramatic activities in the various scenes in which I don’t take part, including hypnotism, ghostly possession and murder – to mention only a few!

SUP: The Next Generation – and meet the show’s strange policeman, Perkins

Dirk Gently’s Production Manager Kevin Bowers writes…

2018 had barely started and five intrepid explorers made their way to deepest darkest Botley. Their mission: to see if excellence could be improved.

The three youngest performers appearing in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – Lou, Darcy and Beth – joined director Lorraine Biddlecombe and myself, a heavily over-burdened production manager and cast member, to rehearse the Don’s dinner scene: away from distractions and with the luxury of a couple of concentrated hours to focus on their performances.

Chairs stood in for other cast members, and our youthful cast took turns to read-in as Reg and Richard – without the accents – with myself reading for everybody else. By the end of the session, each of the young actresses had run the scene three times. Great stuff. They listened to direction, the bruises on my leg showed clear improvements in their kicking skills, and their abilities with a yo-yo came on in leaps and bounds. It’s going to be a great scene. Three actresses giving three unique interpretations of the same role, all telling the same story. SUP Theatre Company clearly has a talented future.

The very handsome Chris Aland is playing Dirk Gently’s ‘ugly’ copper…

The last time I was involved with a police uniform was during the pleasurable experience of directing It’s A Bobby’s Job for SUP at the Totton Drama Festival two years ago, with a cast that included SUP’s current co-chairs Stephen and Alison.

Ready to inspect: Chris Aland as Perkins

Two years on, and I find myself donning the very same costume (Stephen’s not Ali’s) to play Perkins: an ugly (as described in the text), daft and slightly disturbing copper who spends his time being clipped around the ear and getting very excited at the prospect of taking a chainsaw to a sofa jammed in a stairwell, but largely fiddling with a dead body.

I have enjoyed taking part in a smaller role for this production especially as the part has few words to learn but still gives me the opportunity for comedic interactions with fellow cast member Sophia (she is the body under the blanket), while I am also doubling up as a Groom at a wedding, a university Don, and taking part in a ‘delightful’ song and dance routine – which for pleasure I can say is only seconded by intrusive dental surgery.

The rehearsal process has been interesting with a variety of new faces joining SUP, which always makes it more fun. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together – and I’m sure it’s going to be a fun final month.

A New Year’s message from our director – and a show preview by The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Appreciation Society

Director Lorraine Biddecombe writes…

It’s less than a month away from my second show at the Nuffield theatre in Southampton with SUP Theatre Company, and things are getting exciting… Everyone has worked really hard finding their characters and learning their lines, and we now move into full-run rehearsals, which are good for everyone – and especially poor Dirk himself, who until now has had to cope with rehearsing scenes (and running all of those complicated lines) out of order! Paul Cresser has stepped up to the challenge magnificently – and we’re all expecting great things of the entire cast and crew!

There is so much going on in this production – much like Douglas Adams’ writing! We are using a large screen for animation and film, we have magic tricks, time travel – and even a full-scale dance number! What more could audiences want? So… have you bought your tickets yet?

Members of the SUP Dirk Gently cast rehearse a complicated dance routine…

From ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, the club for fans of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… http://www.zz9.org

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: live onstage in 2018

NST Campus theatre, Southampton – Tue 30th Jan to Sat 3 Feb 2018

Adapted for the stage by James Goss and Arvind Ethan David

ZZ9ers may be interested to know that a new stage version of the original Dirk Gently novel is being performed by Southampton’s SUP Theatre Company in the New Year.

“We’re thrilled our production follows so closely on the heels of the reconstruction and release of Adams’ unfinished Doctor Who story, Shada – parts of which, of course, he re-used along with elements of City of Death to create Dirk Gently,” says Paul Cresser, who plays Dirk in the new show.

Paul Cresser (above) in character as Dirk Gentl

Paul describes himself as “a huge Douglas Adams fan – and we want to make sure that we do justice to him. Everyone involved is giving 100 percent. For me, that means making sure I capture the essence of the character and that I get his rather long and complicated speeches and explanations spot-on.”

SUP is an award-winning community theatre group affiliated to the University of Southampton. It performs at the Nuffield Theatre on the University main campus, raises money for charity and appears at other venues and local events including the Totton Drama Festival.

In January 2017, the SUP stage version of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment – which featured a seven-foot Troll – was extremely well-received by theatregoers including the many Pratchett fans who came along, with Discworld Monthly giving the show the thumbs up. SUP hopes to achieve the same success with Dirk Gently.

“Some changes have obviously been made in this adaptation for the stage,” says Lorraine Biddecombe, director, “however, it remains faithful to the story and the spirit of the novel. We want audiences to revel in the imagination and wit of Douglas Adams.”

The brand new production mixes live action with specially commissioned computer graphics, film and effects – plus some dazzling alien costumes.

Countdown to showtime

We’ve had the SUP Christmas party, we’re now in the Christmas break, and this is the final Dirk production blog of the year. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and I’d like to wish you all the best for 2018.

So, where are we up to, with the show? And what can we expect in the New Year?

Well, December saw the director and myself have a highly productive technical meeting with NST Campus to discuss the productions needs of the show in detail. This is quite a complex production with lots of moving parts: the cast, obviously, as well as many props, costumes – including the aliens – along with pre-filmed inserts, magic tricks and some brand-new computer animations, and that’s without mentioning the technical aspects of the lighting and projection, and a pretty detailed list of sound effects. Another SUP team, meanwhile, had a meeting with the NST Box Office around marketing; helping to spread the word about the show to previous SUP and Nuffield audiences.

It’s good to report that, for instance, the animations are now almost complete, we’ve got 99% of the props that we need, including some of the trickier ones, the cast know virtually all of their lines – as you’d expect of this experienced team, five weeks to curtain up – and the director still has a full head of hair! So I guess that means we’re on the right track.

As I say, we only have five weeks left, meaning we’re going into the most intense period of rehearsals, requiring concentration and commitment in the final push, as well as the key period in our efforts to market the show, reaching out audiences and selling as many tickets as possible for what promises to be a wonderful evening’s entertainment.

One thought is front of mind, across cast and crew, and despite the busy weeks that undoubtedly lie ahead: and that is, remembering to have fun – so we can dazzle our audiences, sharing this wonderful tale and delivering a great night out.